There are many cases where a radio transceiver needs to be physically located in an environment that is non-ideal for electromagnetic wave propagation, such as below ground level water utility metering pits. Radio signals that are generated from below ground level in such environments are often absorbed, refracted, and reflected, resulting in poor radio frequency (RF) propagation. When the pit structure includes a metal lid, RF propagation may be even more impacted. For fixed water utility metering networks that are comprised of radio transceivers located in the ground attached to water meters and base station receivers located on buildings and towers, poor RF propagation can result in significant cost increases as some meters cannot be read (unless manually) and some can only be read remotely if more base stations are installed. When more base stations are required to supply adequate network coverage, the meter transceivers' transmit power levels often need to be increased, which in turn reduces battery life or requires additional batteries to be included at significant cost, impacting corporate profits significantly.
One solution to mitigating poor RF propagation environments, such as the below ground water pit example, is to transfer the RF energy from the radio transceiver below ground to a radiating structure located above ground, which is a much more suitable RF propagation environment. In addition, the physical environment of the water pit example above requires the meter transceiver and associated electronics to be completely hermetically sealed to guarantee a twenty year operating life and maintain a barrier for water vapor that destroys the electronics over time. Because of this constraint, no physical contacts may be used to transfer the RF energy from the meter transceiver located below ground, to the above ground radiating structure, such as cables or contact connectors.